KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 8

Rabi Khadka carded two-under 66 to take a twostroke lead going into the final round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

Khadka moved to the top with the 54-hole score of seven-under 197 after overnight leader Bhuwan Nagarkti faltered to two-over 70. Khadka made a bright start to the third round with a birdie but he faced a bogey on the ninth after saving pars on seven holes.

The home club pro also saved pars on seven holes on the back nine but he carded birdies on the 10th and 13th to open up twostroke lead over the chasing pack of Nagarkoti, Dinesh Prajapati and Jayaram Shrestha.

Overnight leader Nagarkoti carded four birdies in his round but he could not hold on to them. He started the day with a bogey before carding a birdie on the third hole. But Nagarkoti dropped shots on the fourth and seventh to take the turn at two-over 36. He bounced back on the back nine with three birdies on 10th, 11th and 15th but failed to maintain the scores and dropped shots on the 16th and 17th holes.

Prajapati carded three-under 65, while Shrestha settled for one-under 67 despite making a flying start by carding four straight birdies. Prajapati carded three-under 31 on the front nine with the help of a birdie on the third and an eagle on the fourth. On the back nine, he carded birdies on the 10th and 12th before facing bogeys on the 15th and 18th holes

Shrestha, who was co-leader in the first round after he carded six-under 62, had a dream start after the earned shots on the first four holes. He dropped shots on the last three holes to take the turn at one-under 33. He bounced back with a birdie on the 10th but he went on to face a double bogey on the next. Shrestha maintained the one-under par score with a birdie on the 12th and pars on the next six holes.

Bhuwan Kumar Rokka produced the best card of the round at five-under 63 and he jumped to fifth with the score of three-under 201, while Dhana Bahadur Thapa carded second straight 68 to remain at sixth position at even-par 204.

Sukra Bahadur Rai (68), Kumar Kami (71) and Sanjay Lama (71) shared the seventh position at 205, while Ramesh Adhikari (69) was further four shots behind at 10th position.

Top amateur Subash Tamang faltered to twoover 70 to slip down to sixth position at two-under 202.

The 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist, Tamang, however, will enjoy a 15-stroke cushion over Maj Nischaya Jung Rayamajhi going into the final round. Rayamajhi played four-over 72 to maintain the second position, while Bidur Tamang (72) was third at 224.

The first event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour offers a cash purse of Rs 640,000 with top three pros receiving Rs 110,000, Rs 74,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively.

Others in top 21 will also earn their share of cash prizes.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 09, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.